Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Out of all the video games ever released in gaming history, the Uncharted saga stands out as one of the best. Ever. Calling this series the "modern-day Indiana Jones" is pretty close to what is it, but in all respects, it's a mix of Indy and the Lord of the Rings. "How does LotR fit into the picture?", you might ask. Well, here's how: the scope and scale of the Uncharted games/stories is so massive, you are truly thrust into a whole new world (almost literally in the last 2 games). But in all respect for the games, there is not much i can offer but to say that these games are works of art. There are very, very few game sagas that truly deserve universal acclaim, or near-universal, and the Uncharted saga is one of them. Drake's Fortune was a spectacular, ground-breaking set piece for consoles, and then Among Thieves was released; a landmark and milestone of the gaming world. Drake's Deception is as good as Among Thieves, and completely awe-inspiring; an adventure epic.

P.S. To those staying on top of the movie adaptation news, please help try to find a way to get Sony to pick new writers because, The Wibberleys, really? They are one of the WORST choices to write the film for Drake's Fortune. I say either Jonathan Nolan & David S. Goyer, or William Monahan & John Logan

I grew up with Tomb Raider and was likely one of those people who saw Uncharted initially as a ripoff, but alike all those people I was wrong SO badly wrong.

Uncharted was an incredible game met by justified critical acclaim and just kept hitting us with further phenomenal sequels and this of course being one of them.

So what's so good about them? They play beautifully, the environments and puzzles are flawless as is the gunplay. The storylines are deep, memorable and very well scripted. The voice cast are the best of the best and Nolan North could simply never be replaced as the now iconic Nathan Drake.

The games truly are that good and over the years they've never missed a beat and not made a single bad game. Naughty Dog is a developer in a million who lovingly craft these near perfect games consistently.

Drakes Deception is the 3rd of the 4 outings for Mr Drake and picks up with the second game left off, brings back all the old characters and gives Nathan and friends another memorable, powerful and action packed adventure.

The Good:

Great story

Very fun to play

Flawless voice cast

The Bad:

Nope

I had high expectations for Uncharted 3. They were exceeded and smashed. Naughty Dog did what many, many people thought impossible and made a sequel that was even better than its predecessor.

The game feels so much more whole as an experience, it feels complete. It answers questions, and asks a few new ones as well. From start to finish, it's a tight, enriching and wholly engrossing experience; not just a game.

I won't reveal any spoilers. But I'll just say that a few new features go a long way in enhancing the Uncharted experience. Different takes on the way the story is told and set up is also another plus.

As a game, it may seem like more of a playable movie. BUT, it's so much more - it remains a GAME. It pulls you in until you can't put the controller down.

Once you've finished, there's a hint of sadness - you'll find yourself wishing you'd never finished it, just so you could discover and experience it all again.

Easily Game of the Year. I can't fault this.

First off, I enjoyed this game a good deal. I do not want anyone to think I thought this game was bad or was in need of a major overhaul. I just do not think it was as good as the very epic second game in the series. There was nothing like the war torn city you had to navigate your way through, there was no super great action scene on the train, and there just was not as good a villain to fight. With that being said, it was still a very good game and still better than the first game in the series, though all have been great so far and I will most certainly buy an Uncharted 4 should it come out. I feel this one was rushed a bit more than the second game, and that may account for some of the small faults I found, but even though it came out relatively quickly after the second one they still managed a rather good story and some incredible game play. Nate is back and he is going against a mysterious lady from his and Sully's past named Marlowe as there is a great poolroom brawl to start the game. Seems this time you are once again following a path of Sir Francis Drake as Nate tries to find the Atlantis of the Sand before the villain of the piece. You get a peek at Nate's childhood and his first meeting with Victor Sullivan and through the game you see how important Victor is to Nate. Chloe once again returns as does Elena as Nate goes from one interesting locale to the next. The most interesting of the places you get to visit to me in this one was the ship graveyard and the level where the ship is sinking was easily one of the best and most rattling levels in the game. The game play is essentially the same as the previous two games, though hand to hand combat was once again improved upon. I did find that during some of the levels the game regressed to being a bit like the first game where you do some jumping and climbing and then make your way to a shoot out type layout, not as bad as the first, but it was noticeable where the second game was a bit more seamless in transition. All in all though it was a very good game and loads of fun to play and it has me wanting to replay the first adventure once again. The characters are some of the best in video games and the story was very sound too, though I will say there was really not all that much in the way of a super ending fight as there was in the second game. Which sums up this game, it is a very good game, but just a step behind the second.

What Nathan Drake does to Sony is truly like Mario does to Nintendo or Sonic to Sega. He is certainly Playstation's long-lost lover and once found, inseparable. He was born from the same womb that gave birth to the once-considered-Playstation mascot, Crash Bandicoot.

Uncharted series prove to enjoyable in all its iterations, and every new release gets better charm upon the previous. As you might expect, Uncharted 3 is the best among the whole series. The graphics and gameplay are naturally the most gorgeous, the actions are engaged and virtually non-stop, but the biggest improvement in UC3 is its amazingly diverse settings. If you got bored of running in the woods just like in UC1 and some in UC2, worry no more, UC3 got you explore a lot of gorgeous landscapes: from the bleak underground, remote castle ruins, market, airport, seaport, desert, and even a ghost town. Not to mention, the game also has the longest time to complete, in fact it was so long that I remember when I finally finished the game, I recalled playing the early chapters like it was years ago.

With all those cramped in a single disc, you might not notice that UC3 has the largest data size ever released as a video game to date - over 50 GB! Finally, a game that justifies the sheer capacity of blu ray disc! I can't imagine if it is not a PS3 exclusive, how many discs it will come on PC or Xbox 360.

One glaring omission out of the box somehow is the movie viewer feature! In past UC games, I really love viewing the cutscenes I've passed over and over again through movie viewer feature to admire the scenes and as an enjoyment bonus (in fact, I do think that the movie feature is among the feature you love in UC series, right?) Now in UC3, with all those major overhauled in graphics and others, can't you imagine the passion to watch it over and over again? And this time, Naughty Dog has removed that lovely feature, do you believe that? I wonder if they were too busy finishing the lengthy gameplay that they forgot to include this. Fortunately, Naughty Dog realized this and through patch 1.03, they returned this little nice feature. If you own the earlier version (just like me having the 1.00 version), you will only need to update the game. No big deal indeed, unless you have no proper internet connection. Unlucky me, I am among the second one. Oh well...but OK, this should not ruin the whole UC3 experience..But if you purchased the game recently (or just plan to purchase) chances are good that you will get the updated version, which means the feature is already available out of the box.

Move over Indiana Jones. Nathan Drake has come to claim his crown. His adventure is not over, there's still plenty to do out there, UC series could continue as much as tenth of iterations. Let's just imagine what mad quest he will engage next..Or, get this...how about he meets Lara Croft and they venture together (and eventually, maybe get married?)? They are surely match made in heaven. Sounds really unlikely, but hey...it's cool!